Whilst I have mildly enjoyed the X-Men series of films I think this latest instalment is milking the franchise somewhat.

The film had all the spills and thrills of its predecessors, despite being something of a Hong Kong action film (set in Japan) but it somehow failed to really get really very interesting….

Of course I would say that because super hero films are not really my scene, so being fair if you enjoyed the previous five films, you will thoroughly enjoy this one and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about!

The Wolverine goes to visit a dying friend whom he saved from the Nagasaki Nuclear blast during WWII and suddenly starts to feel weak, like he’s almost losing his super powers…No its not from surviving a nuclear blast (that’s kids stuff) its a sinister plot which the film spends the next two hours or so unravelling.

A very interesting film from director Stuart Connelly. Two African-American university professors conduct a sociological experiment in small towns of America to see whether local law enforcement will simply arrest the first black man they find.

To conduct this one of them robs a bank while the other wanders into town as the obvious perpetrator and then the psychological mind games begin. After they collect their results they move onto the next town and repeat the process. If you think I have just ruined the entire film for you, then think again because their turns out to be a lot more to it than just the experiment!

This looks like it might have been a stage play at some point, it contains lengthy and intricate dialogues that flesh out the central themes of the film which make it very much a presentation piece despite it having a quite tricky and twisting narrative as well.

The East is a very interesting flick about a group of eco-terrorists who commit large scale acts of sabotage against large corporations who pollute the environment.

The film is not very sympathetic towards them and for the most part tends to paint as villains people who a lot of the world might actually agree with, although perhaps not their methods. Instead the film through its main protagonist suggests that simply talking about these things will stop the same corporations from destroying the planet over and over again.

All in all a very interesting flick sure to raise a lot of discussion in your household, my only criticism of it was probably the casting of Ellen Page beside the tall lanky Alexander Skarsgård, at times it made Page look sort of like an angry puppet!

This is a not-too-bad exploitation film about a girl who comes to America from Russia to variously kill the men and women who enslaved and then murdered her sister. The sister of course believed she was coming to the west to work as a cleaner.

When this movie begins the term “B Grade” sort of leaps into your mind, but taken purely as an action flick it was mildly entertaining. Shera Bechard is absolutely beautiful and a pleasure to watch, even if she does commit one or two rather grisly murders.

Oh poor sweet Natalie, if only you knew the misery you’re in for!

A brilliant film starring Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood, Splendour in the grass follows the teen romance of Beatty and Wood and its eventual breakdown with Natalie ending up in a mental hospital (Ok I did think that was a bit over the top, but if you accept that Natalie was maybe a bit disturbed to begin with it makes sense).

The film attacks the age-old question of teen girls “going to third base” and boys dumping them for girls who will. It offers few solutions and is probably summed up by the boys doctor who says “I can’t really advise you on that”.

My only criticism is probably that in contemporary times the film is somewhat confusing as it constantly alludes to people having sex, which is fine because the censorship of the time would have expected it to only allude, but it gets a bit difficult in 2013 to work out exactly who is and isn’t actually doing it in the film.  Lots of fades to black and subtle hints, possibly if I was a girl in the sixties some of the whisphery meanings might have been a bit more apparent!

With this very issue being of prime importance to the narrative, the confusion creeps in. The characters do make blunt statements about who did what eventually which helps, but along the way you are left guessing sometimes. Which leads me to wonder whether the director deliberately left such matters ambiguous to make us feel just like the confused teenagers the film portrays.

If you liked Rebel Without A Cause you’ll love this one.

You may recall that I said once before that Australian films are either very good, or very bad – Scorched is a very good Australian film..

It follows fires that engulf Sydney which rage out of control due to a dwindling water supply. Whilst not intended to exactly mirror actual events, the film draws heavily on the political problems of drought and desalination plants of the time.

Of most note was a very credible performance by Cameron Daddo, who has obviously been attending acting school since the earlier days of his career. Indeed all in all pretty much all of the performances were very memorable and maybe Australian actors and scriptwriters have finally found their niche in disaster films.

This movie is right up there with Silence of the Lambs on the disturbing scale! Two young girls are abducted by a mysterious campervan in the very street they live and one of the girls fathers (Hugh Jackman the Wolverine) races against time to find the girls alive.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the detective tasked with finding the girls and delivers a brilliant performance as a very convincing policeman. Rather than opting for your standard screen cop, Jake has obviously been studying the manner of real cops with their indifferent professionalism, and imitated it perfectly.

As the story unfolds we are dragged through a maze of sex offenders and various other low-lifes to the films ultimate conclusion. We realise that a lot of the main characters are prisoners in their own way.

Whilst not exactly a graphic film, don’t expect to sleep too soundly for a few days after you watch this one.